View full sizeAdidas contends this skate shoe by Worldwide Industries of Costa Mesa, Calif., has a logo on the side that looks too much like the Germany-based comanyâs three stripes trademark.

A lot of World Industries' skate sneakers feature a Gothic-like "W" on the side of the upper. Some of the shoes have an elegant script, "World," on the side.

But one shoe design makes the bottom of an oversized "W" nearly indecipherable until, it can be argued, all that remains is three stripes.

And that's what Adidas, whose brand of shoes and clothing bear a three-stripe logo, is going to argue in court.

The company filed a federal lawsuit this week in Portland contending that World Industries, a skateboard equipment company based in Costa Mesa, Calif., had made unauthorized use of the three-stripes trademark. Germany-based Adidas has its North American headquarters in Portland.

The lawsuit seeks an order halting the sale of the allegedly offending shoes and seeks unspecified monetary damages.

A World Industries employee who answered the company's phone Wednesday evening said no one was available at that time to respond to the lawsuit's allegations.

The lawsuit also was filed against Big 5 Sporting Goods, which featured the World Industries skate shoe in a full-page newspaper advertisement as recently as April 29.

In the advertisement example filed with the lawsuit, the World Industries "Major" skate shoe is positioned next to an Adidas "Tip Off 2" basketball shoe with three stripes. The lawsuit says the retailer also positions World Industries shoes near Adidas shoes in their stores.

A spokesperson for the El Segundo, Calif.-based Big 5 could not be reached Wednesday evening.

Adidas shoes began using three stripes in their design as early as 1952, the lawsuit says.